Primarily a collection of news links about all 10 Horizon League teams on a daily basis, culled from online newspapers, school athletic websites, the conference website, and school newspapers, plus some other content from time to time.

Friday, November 28, 2014

Anton Wilson scored 14 and Juwan Howard Jr. 12 for Detroit (3-2) in a 69-55 victory over Maryland Eastern Shore at the Progressive Legends Classic in Toledo on Monday.

Brandan Kearney and Paris Bass had 11 apiece for the Titans.

Western Carolina 88, (at) Oakland 79 (2OT): Western Carolina's James Sinclair slammed home a dunk with 23 seconds left in double overtime for the win. Kahlil Felder had 26 points and six assists for Oakland (0-4).

Toledo — Juwan Howard Jr. scored 28 on Tuesday night and Brandan Kearney made the 3-pointer that put Detroit ahead for good in an 82-79 victory over Toledo in the final of the Progressive Legends Classic.

The game was 75-75 when Kearney, who began his college career at Michigan State, made his only 3-pointer with 49 seconds remaining. He finished with seven points.

Toledo (2-3) led by five with 4:19 left after a 3-point play by Justin Drummond.

Howard responded with a three-point play of his own, then a jumper as Detroit (4-2) went to make it 73-73 with 1:38 left.

Paris Bess scored 14 and Jarod Williams 13 for Detroit.

J.D. Weatherspoon led Toledo with 20 points.

More state men

(At) Oakland 70, Chicago State 57: Corey Petros scored 19 and Tommie McCune had 12 points and 10 rebounds for Oakland (1-4) in its first victory.

Dante Williams scored 13 and Kahlil Felder had 10 points and seven assists for the Grizzlies.

While this might not be a catastrophic injury to the Spartans’ season, Michigan State is already without freshman guard Javon Bess, who has a broken foot, and Cleveland State transfer and guard Bryn Forbes has a broken non-shooting hand that he’s attempting to play through.

Not that Norris Cole would have made much of a difference on this night — the Heat lost 110-93, and the team already trailed by more than 20 points when Cole left with a dislocated middle finger — but one more injured starting guard might be too much for the Heat to overcome even against the dregs of the Eastern Conference.
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Cole never returned after his injury, which forced Shannon Brown into the lineup. He started the second half and could start on Saturday in Orlando if Cole isn’t cleared to play. The Heat plays the Charlotte Hornets at AmericanAirlines Arena on Sunday.

Among those injured are Dwyane Wade, who sat out his fourth consecutive game Thursday night with a hamstring injury, Luol Deng, who’s getting over a wrist injury, and now Norris Cole, who dislocated his middle left finger deflecting a pass against the Clippers.

Shannon Brown started the second half in place of Cole, and Spoelstra called on Justin Hamilton to play a few minutes. It was Hamilton’s first appearance on court since Nov.5; he has been dealing with a hip injury.

A somber Cole said he’s following doctors’ orders as far as playing time goes. Spoelstra said the team is going to wait and see how the point guard feels Saturday.

“It’s frustrating, but it’s better early than late,” Cole said of the Heat’s diminished lineup. “We don’t feel sorry for ourselves; we’re professionals, so whoever’s out there is expected to compete at a high level and still expected to win.”
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Noteworthy: Dwyane Wade is out, marking the fifth game he has missed with a strained hamstring. Norris Cole is questionable because of a dislocated left middle finger, but the Heat’s starting shooting guard has played in 160 consecutive games, the third-most in franchise history. ... The Heat (6-6) has lost four of its past five games and is seventh in the Eastern Conference.

Mario Chalmers, moving to the point with Norris Cole nursing a dislocated finger, also made his mark with 24 points and eight assists.
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Saturday night at least brought signs of encouragement, with a lineup lacking both both Dwyane Wade (hamstring) and Cole.

Wade missed his fifth consecutive game, though he might be close to returning. Cole, injured midway through the Clippers loss, saw his streak of 160 consecutive games come to an end — one shy of sharing No.2 on the Heat’s all-time list.

Grant Long made 161 consecutive appearances from 1990 through ’92. Cole hadn’t missed a game since Dec.4, 2012 against the Washington Wizards.

Starting Heat guards Norris Cole and Dwyane Wade were out again against the Hornets and are expected to miss Tuesday’s game against Golden State. Wade has missed six games with a hamstring injury, and Cole has missed two after dislocating his left middle finger against the Clippers last Thursday.

Brown had started the past two games, victories over the Orlando Magic and Hornets, amid the injuries that have sidelined starting guards Dwyane Wade and Norris Cole.
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With Wade and Cole expected to miss Tuesday's game against the visiting Golden State Warriors, the Heat's options of backcourt starters alongside Mario Chalmers could be reduced to Shabazz Napier, James Ennis, Danny Granger or Dawkins

Even with Wade and center Chris Andersen sidelined, and even with Norris Cole limited to a 1-of-8 shooting night in his return while wearing a splint on his dislocated left middle finger, the Heat continually counterpunched -- until the Warriors took the fight out of them with their 3-point efficiency, closing 13 of 28 from beyond the arc.
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The Heat got Cole back after he missed two games, but were without Andersen after he severely sprained his ankle in Sunday's home victory over the Charlotte Hornets.

Detroit – Horizon League – 2013-14 record: 13-18 (6-10). After finishing eighth in the Horizon League standings in 2013-14 (out of nine teams) and graduating its top rebounder and second-leading scorer, Evan Bruinsma, Detroit was picked third in this year’s preseason poll. Why such high expectations? The simple answer is twofold: Juwan Howard Jr. is back, and a wave of talent joins him. Howard, a 6’5’’ senior who led the Titans in scoring last season (18.3 PPG), should be one of the best players in the conference this year, even if his numbers do not drastically improve. He was probably relied upon far too heavily a season ago – the wing took 20-plus shots on six different occasions – so this year’s additions should help reduce the pressure and enable Howard to score more efficiently. Those reinforcements – transfers Chris Jenkins (Colorado) and Brandan Kearney (Arizona State), along with redshirt freshman Paris Bass – will bring depth at small forward and provide supplemental offensive punch. Add that to the trio of quality guards in the backcourt, plus 6’10’’ Penn State transfer Patrick Ackerman down low, and Ray McCallum’s team should rediscover its winning ways this season.

Appetizers/Starters
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Detroit at Oregon – 11:00 PM ET, ESPNU, Tonight. Detroit will be much improved this season and should give Oregon a game, at least early on. Juwan Howard Jr. scores a lot of points (18.3 PPG in 2013-14), Oregon’s Joseph Young scores a lot of points (18.9 PPG in 2013-14) – think of this as your chips and salsa, or spinach and artichoke dip. You can’t really go wrong.

If guard Ryan Bass (concussion) and forward Detwon Rogers (knee) return during non-conference play, that will help Dayton’s depth. In the three games in Puerto Rico, Dayton played an eight-man rotation. Dayton committed six fouls in the first four minutes of their 55-53 victory last Thursday over Texas A&M and you wondered if they would have enough players to finish the game.

Keifer Sykes – G – Green Bay. If Green Bay can break through and win a game or two in the NCAA Tournament, the diminutive point guard will be the reason why. The senior averaged 20.3 PPG and 4.9 APG last season. Generously listed at 6’0”, Sykes is one of the best dunkers in the O26 ranks.

Sunday, November 23, 2014

Iona Tops Cleveland State This was an interesting chance to get a look at two teams that will contend for conference titles. I took Cleveland State to win the Horizon preseason. In the MAAC, I gave the narrow edge to Siena over Iona, but with the loss of Imoh Silas things might change. And this was an impressive way for Iona to start their regular season, led by Isaiah Williams (18 points, 7 rebounds, 4 assists). This isn't a "bad" loss for Cleveland State, on the road at a good Iona team. So there's no reason to think they're not still the Horizon favorite.

Cleveland State-Iona is a matchup of two of the best mid-majors in the country this season. If you have a way to watch it, you should. It should be a fast, high-scoring game. Another fun mid-major game will be Boise State-San Diego in Los Angeles.

LINEUP SPECULATION: With Wade out of the lineup, Heat coach Erik Spoelstra is faced with his first major lineup decision of the regular season. He could go a number of ways, including starting Shannon Brown, Mario Chalmers or even rookie Jame Ennis at shooting guard. Another possibility could be Norris Cole coming off the bench and Chalmers starting alongside Shabazz Napier. That seems unlikely, but Napier will likely get more minutes one way or another over the next week or so.

While the Heat's defensive precepts have mostly remained constant from recent seasons, the roster and rotation haven't. Power forward Shawne Williams and small forward Luol Deng are less than 10 games into their Heat tenures. Norris Cole now is the starting point guard, while Mario Chalmers is the reserve shooting guard, perhaps the starting shooting guard, with Dwyane Wade dealing with a strained left hamstring. And offseason free-agent additions Josh McRoberts and Danny Granger are more injured than ambulatory.

"We have to figure it out, regardless of who's out there," Spoelstra said "It was working fine enough in the first half."

Without Wade, the Heat went with the starting lineup of Norris Cole and Mario Chalmers in the backcourt. For a second straight game, the Chalmers led the team in scoring with 18 points.
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After Shawne Williams hit a 3-pointer to make it 78-74, Bucks guard Brandon Knight responded with a three. Knight then answered Cole's 3-pointer on the next possession.

Izzo had a solid recruiting class this season and has an even better one for next. Those two classes, combined with transfers Bryn Forbes and Eron Harris, plus juniors Denzel Valentine and Matt Costello, should give MSU a chance at a deep tournament run.

Kelly followed with a pair of free throws to cut the Michigan State lead to 60-57 with 1:57 to play. Trice then hit a runner in the lane and the Spartans followed with a stop. But after a miss on the drive by Bryn Forbes, Kelly got a putback on the other end to make it 62-59 with 23.1 seconds to play.

The Golden Grizzlies fell to the University of Central Florida Knights 98-65 Monday night in Orlando. Freshman Leah Somerfield led Oakland in scoring with 12 points, while Zykria Lewis had 28 points for Central Florida. Oakland had the lead late in the first half, but Central Florida took a nine-point lead into the half and scored 63 points in the second half. The women Golden Grizzlies will play their home opener Sunday night against the Chicago State Cougars.

3. Green Bay (24-7, 14-2): Fueling the Phoenix this season will be the memory of the day they let a gift-wrapped chance to reach last season's NCAA tournament slip away. In one of the most surprising outcomes of conference tournament week last March, Green Bay fell to rival Milwaukee in the Horizon League semifinals, a loss made all the more frustrating by the fact that 7-foot NBA prospect Alec Brown aggravated a shoulder injury early in the first half and explosive pont guard Keifer Sykes played with a hyperextended knee and an injured ankle. Though Green Bay will miss the inside-outside contributions of Brown, the return of Sykes and three other starters gives the Phoenix hope of again ascending to the top of the Horizon League. Sykes will be the catalyst with his ability to get into the lane, finish at the rim or create for his teammates. He'll be aided by sharpshooter Carrington Love, high-flying Greg Mays and defensive standout Jordan Fouse. Look for forwards Kenneth Lowe and Alfonzo McKinnie to each absorb some of the minutes vacated by Brown in the frontcourt. This is a potent Green Bay team with enough talent and experience to do some damage in the NCAA tournament, but getting there won't be easy. Cleveland State is formidable competition in the Horizon League and Valparaiso and Wright State won't be pushovers either

62. Mid-major star whose name you'll know by March if you don't already: Green Bay's Keifer Sykes. The 5-foot-10 senior is an elite point guard and maybe the nation's premier dunker. Watch this if you have any doubts.

11. Keifer Sykes, Green Bay: At 5-11, Sykes makes up for his size with speed and high-flying athleticism. He’s the reigning Horizon League Player of the Year after averaging 20.3 points a game last season and one of the best mid-major players in the country.

CBSSports.com's Jerry Palm projects Green Bay will win the Horizon League's automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament, at which point the Phoenix would be something like a No. 14 seed. That means some top-three seed will have to deal with Sykes, a dynamic scorer who plays at the mid-major level but would be similarly strong at the high-major level.

Zionsville, which was 11-2 through January last season, will have one of the most experienced teams in Central Indiana. Derrik Smits, a 7-foot Valparaiso recruit, is the top returning scorer (10.6 ppg) and also averaged 3.6 rebounds and 1.8 blocked shots. The left-handed Smits shot 54 percent from the field and 78 percent from the free-throw line last season.

Smits, the son of former Indiana Pacer Rik Smits, has battled injuries throughout his career, but can be one of the best players in the state when healthy and motivated.
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Zionsville will get a significant boost with the return of Cassius Smits-Francisco, a 6-8, 225-pound sophomore who should be back in mid-December as he recovers from surgery from an anterior cruciate ligament tear in his knee. Smits-Francisco, the cousin of Smits, is receiving early recruiting interest from Ball State, Indiana State, Ole Miss, Purdue and Valparaiso.

"He's progressing nicely," Busick said. "He's been working hard in the weight room and is putting on a lot of muscle. He's going to have to get back into a rhythm and back into a flow, but he's going to help us."